Lodging an administrative complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service

You can lodge an administrative complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service if you suspect that a public official at the Finnish Immigration Service has acted unlawfully or failed to comply with his or her obligations.

You can lodge a complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service concerning only the conduct of an official at the Finnish Immigration Service.

If your complaint concerns senior officials at the Finnish Immigration Service or the agency as a whole, you can lodge your complaint with the Ministry of the Interior. Such complaints lodged with the Finnish Immigration Service will be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior. With regard to the conduct of public officials at reception centres, please lodge your complaint with the director of the reception centre.

How can I lodge a complaint?

An administrative complaint can be submitted in free form and can be lodged by anyone.

If you are not an interested party, confidential information cannot be disclosed to you on the basis of a complaint you have lodged.

To lodge a complaint, you can use a specific administrative complaint form or write a free-form complaint that includes at least the following information:

your name and contact information

the name of the authority, official or another person performing public administrative tasks whose conduct you feel you have cause to criticise

your description of what happened and when it happened

your grounds for thinking that the official has acted unlawfully or failed to comply with his or her obligations.

You can submit your written complaint or a completed administrative complaint form either by mail or email. You can lodge a complaint orally only in exceptional circumstances, for example if you are unable to submit your complaint in written form for health reasons. You should then be prepared to orally provide the minimum information listed above.

We will request that you supplement your complaint with additional information if we deem this necessary for the handling of the matter.

Examination of a complaint is free of charge.

An administrative complaint may not be used to appeal against a decision

An administrative complaint can never be used as a means of appealing against a decision on a residence permit, asylum or a citizenship application. A complaint provides no grounds for the Finnish Immigration Service to change or annul a decision already made.

With respect to a decision on a residence permit, asylum or citizenship, you may appeal to the Administrative Court. Instructions for lodging an appeal will be enclosed with the decision.

Investigation of a complaint

Administrative complaints are investigated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, where applicable. If necessary, a statement will be requested from the official who is the subject of the complaint. After this, you, in the capacity of a complainant, may be asked to submit a response. Anonymous complaints will not be investigated without special grounds.

The Finnish Immigration Service will provide you with a written reply. This reply will also be delivered to the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint. Decisions on complaints are not subject to appeal.

Based on a complaint, the Finnish Immigration Service may alter its procedures or issue new guidelines or orders.

If the Finnish Immigration Service finds that the conduct of the official in question was reprehensible, the Finnish Immigration Service may issue him or her with a reprimand or warning, for example. If there is reason to suspect that a crime has been committed, the Finnish Immigration Service may delegate the task of conducting an investigation to the police.